500 Miles
by Ever-the-Optimist
Summary: It was the most grueling race of the season- 500 miles on a 2.5 mile oval track designed to test the stamina and mental acuity of the entire crew.  With an entire team out to get his driver, Sasuke's going to have to push all of his skills to the max.


**So, I'm a racing nerd. My family and I go every year. I'm not sure if anyone else will like this as much as I had fun writing it. But when we got our Indy 500 tickets in the mail, I had to get this out. I tried to keep the track lingo to a minimum, and I took a few liberties with the protocols and physics. Oh well.**

**If you want to see a scary example of a race track wreck, YouTube "Mike Conway crash 2010 Indy 500." His car goes completely airborne and disintegrates. And after all that, he just broke his leg. **

**I also feel like I should make excuses for the length. I only meant for it to be a one-shot. By page 18, I started to question if I should break it up. By page 25, I said screw it, I've seen longer one-shots. By page 29, it was just plain stubbornness. There's no other excuse. I'm not sure if it would have been better the other way or not, but I'm refusing. **

**Let me know what you think, if you read it at all. Thanks!**

* * *

><p>Sasuke narrowed his eyes. The scene in front of him was getting a little too familiar for comfort.<p>

"Kabuto, tell your man to get off my driver's ass." Sasuke's eyes glanced to the left to the man he was addressing. Kabuto, the jack-off, just grinned at him.

"Sasuke, I don't tell you how to do your job. Please don't tell me how to do mine."

"Sasuke! Tell them to get this guy off my ass!" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the voice sounding in his ear.

"I'm trying, Naruto. Can you pull out away from him at all?"

"Oh, gee, why didn't I think of that?" Sasuke rolled his eyes again, and then realized that his driver couldn't hear him roll his eyes through the radio.

"Just drive, Naruto."

"I'm trying, but this bastard's going to end up taking me out. Again."

Sasuke knew that that was exactly what that driver was trying to do. He'd already done it for the past three races. Team Otogakure had a nasty habit of not playing fair, and this had been their most recent game plan. Any time Naruto started to pull out in the lead, one of their drivers, Kimimaro, would come up, fast and furious, on Naruto's tail. This inevitably led Kimimaro hitting Naruto from behind and spinning them both out, leaving the other Otogakure driver a clear field to win the race.

The first time this happened, Sasuke had chalked it up to aggressive driving. The second, he had assumed the driver was an immature driver who didn't learn from his mistakes. By the third time, Sasuke knew it was no coincidence. Team Otogakure had it out for his driver. So, when Naruto pulled out to the front of the pack with only twenty laps left to go, Sasuke started watching his tail, all the while telling Naruto to step on it. Sure enough, here came Kimimaro, screaming up the field. It was a testament to Naruto's driving that they hadn't spun out yet. Naruto was in first, then Kimimaro, and then the other Otogakure driver, Orochimaru, was in third. This was a familiar set up. Kimimaro would take out Naruto, the track would go under yellow, and Orochimaru would finish first. Sasuke could feel his teeth grinding.

"Kabuto," Sasuke said to the other spotter, "tell that son of a bitch to get off my driver. Now!" Kabuto just shrugged.

"Sasuke, I can't shake him!" Naruto's voice sounded so panicked. Sasuke gripped his headphones, almost trying to reach out to the other man through the radio.

"I know Naruto. He's not telling him to back off. Just hold on, okay? You're almost done; only twelve more laps." Three laps later, Sasuke watched in horror as Naruto's car was flipped, head over tail, down the length of the track and into the wall. Parts of the shiny black and red #7 car flew off in every direction, sparks flying. Sasuke wouldn't deny the small whimper at the back of his throat as the emergency medics ran out to Naruto's car. Behind him, Sasuke could hear the other spotters calling out warnings to their drivers about the wreck. "Naruto! Are you all right? Answer me!"

In his ears, he heard a soft groan. Sasuke had his head set off and was out of the spotter booth the next heartbeat, running down the bleachers and onto the track. The medics already had Naruto out of the car and on a stretcher. There was blood all down the side of his face. Behind him, Sasuke heard the low growl of the remaining cars.

"Is he all right? What's wrong with him?" One of the medics played interference with Sasuke while the others loaded Naruto on the back of their truck.

"We're taking him in to have our on-staff doctor check him over. He has a head injury, but it doesn't look serious. He was conscious when we took him out, but we have to be careful with his neck. He hit hard."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto had hit hard. Harder than any of the other times. He could just hope that Kimimaro hit just as hard. "There was a lot of blood." The medic nodded

"Yes, but head wounds always bleed pretty bad. It usually looks worse than it actually is."

"_Usually,"_ Sasuke repeated in his head as he watched the medic return to the truck and head back to the on-site hospital. He jogged across the width of the track into the in-field. The media was already there and questions started firing at him immediately.

"Sasuke! What does this mean for Uchiha Racing?"

"You're the car owner as well as the spotter. Do you think that your dual responsibilities contributed to today's wreck?"

"This is Uzumaki's fourth crash in four races. Any ideas yet on if you're going to renew his contract for next year?"

"Any word on Uzumaki's condition?"

Sasuke tried to ignore their questions, but they were blocking his way, preventing him from getting to his driver. Finally, with a huff, he turned to face them, pausing a moment to take a step back when he found the microphone almost up his nose.

"Uchiha Racing will continue on." Sasuke heard his voice booming out from the several speakers stationed around track. With the low speed of the cars under yellow, he could be sure that all the spectators could hear him. Good. He only wanted to say this once. "We have the best driver and pit crew and both, I'm sure, will be up and running for next week's race. Yes, I am the car owner and the spotter, and no I do not believe my added responsibilities put my driver in jeopardy. If anything, it makes me have an added investment in making sure my driver and car are safe. And the reason Naruto crashed is because Team Otogakure is a bunch of dirty rotten cheaters who know that they can't win a race by themselves without taking my driver out of the running." Sasuke mentally grinned to himself at the shocked expressions on the reporters' faces before he continued. "Finally, I am on my way now to check on Uzumaki. We will let you know of his condition as soon as we are able."

With that, Sasuke turned and stalked off to the make-shift hospital. The receptionist didn't know anything about Naruto's condition, but assured him that as soon as Dr. Tsunade had finished helping him, she would be out to talk to Sasuke. In the meantime, Sasuke had nothing to do but to watch the slow motion of Naruto's wreck on the TV monitors. It looked a lot worse slow motion and up close than it had up in the spotter's booth. There was Kimimaru's acceleration into Naruto's tail, lifting the back tires off the ground and digging the nose into the ground. There was Naruto flipping down the track. There was Naruto crashing in the wall. Sasuke could see the helmeted head hit the side of the car, and then slump over the wheel. Sasuke groaned and held his head in his hands as the cameras started to replay it over again.

Sasuke's phone rang. He looked briefly at the screen and recognized it as his parents. He was debating on whether or not to answer when he saw Dr. Tsunade clicking in her heels down the hallway. He quickly hit ignore and stood to meet her.

"How is he?" Sasuke searched her face, looking for any clues, but like a true professional, she wasn't betraying anything.

"I would love to go an entire race, just once, and not see him come in here. Uchiha, you're supposed to be taking care of him."

What could Sasuke say to that? I know, I'm sorry, it wasn't my fault, please, just tell me he's okay. Instead, Sasuke repeated his question. "How is he?"

Tsunade sighed. "He's pretty banged up. He has a concussion, and he needed a couple of stitches. His wrist is sprained and he's cracked a rib." She glanced up at the monitor in time to see Naruto's slow motion abrupt stop into the wall. "It could be a lot worse. He's very lucky."

Sasuke turned to look back at the screen as well in time to see the wreck from a different angle, this one including Kimimaro's spin-off into the green. "And Kimimaro?" He heard an annoyed huff.

"Not a scratch. Not even a bruise." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow back at him.

"You know, I can't remember. I only glanced at him briefly. Our concern was, of course, with the more injured of the two." She motioned over her shoulder. "He's in curtain three."

Sasuke nodded curtly. "Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have a matter of great importance to discuss with him."

She snorted. "Right, discuss."

"Yes, discuss. Mostly about why he keeps taking my driver out." Sasuke moved towards curtain three. Behind him, he heard the receptionist, Shizune, whisper to Tsunade.

"Which do you think he's more angry about- that his driver got taken out, or that his boyfriend got hurt?"

Tsunade snorted. "Both. Hand me Kimimaro's chart. I have a feeling I'm going to need to update it."

* * *

><p>Sasuke came from a long history of famous race car drivers. After his retirement, Sasuke's grandfather had decided to start his own racing league. Uchihas had a thing about taking direction from someone else, so it worked to their benefit if they could make their own decisions. The Uchiha Racing Team had been passed through the generations with great success. After his brother's crash, leaving him blind in one eye, the team had been passed to Sasuke. To everyone's surprise, Sasuke had decided not to be the one in the car, but the one up in the spotter's booth. The wheel had been passed to Sasuke's long-term boyfriend, Naruto Uzumaki.<p>

Sasuke's family had been upset for a little while, until they realized what a phenomenal driver Naruto actually was. He won race after race with apparent ease. The whole time, Sasuke just grinned from the side lines. He and Naruto had met in go-cart racing when they were young, a must for aspiring race car drivers. A bitter rivalry and a begrudging camaraderie had developed. When they were teenagers, their relationship deepened, and Sasuke found himself never wanting to be separated from Naruto. He was in his early twenties when he inherited his family's racing league. Naruto, as well, was being looked at to sign a contract with Team Konoha. It a split second of jealousy, Sasuke had signed Naruto as his driver and retreated to the spotter's booth to look out for his little idiot. He had never regretted that decision, and they both had proved themselves to the public and to Sasuke's family. With Naruto's fast reaction speed and supreme driving skills and Sasuke's quick eyes and thorough understanding of the support, Uchiha Racing had fast become the team to beat.

But now, the most important part of the team was hurt. It was Sasuke's job to be watching out for Naruto, to make sure he had a clear field and to warn him when he didn't. He felt that when Naruto crashed, it was his fault, his failure, that he had let Naruto down. He knew that there was nothing he could have done to stop Kimimaru on the track, and that made him feel helpless. But there was something he could do now.

Kimimaru was on the phone with his back to him when Sasuke entered his room. Sasuke waited patiently while he assured whoever was on the other line that he was fine, but after he hung up and turned to face Sasuke, surprise written across his unmarred face, Sasuke lost his temper. He slammed his fist into Kimimaru's nose, satisfied to hear it crack. Kimimaru reeled back, grabbing at the medicine tray beside the bed to swing at Sasuke in a vain attempt to ward him off. Sasuke allowed the hit, a dull crack to the side of his face, in favor of burying his fist in Kimimaru's gut once, twice, three times before Kimimaru's legs went out from underneath him and he collapsed coughing to the floor. Sasuke kneed him in his side, flipping him on his back, before he reached down to fist Kimimaru's hair and slam his head into the wall. Kimimaru went limp in Sasuke's hand. Sasuke crouched down to look at his face. His crooked nose was bleeding heavily and there was a deep cut on his forehead. He was wheezing and glaring at Sasuke through narrowed eyes.

"Before you lose consciousness, I want to make it very clear to you that you are to stay away from my driver. His ass is mine, and I don't like you riding it." Sasuke paused to let that sink in. "Now, the final race of the season is next week. And you are going to stay as far away as possible from my idiot. If you don't, you and I are going to have a problem."

"You can do what you want to me. It doesn't matter," Kimimaru coughed out.

Sasuke hummed. "Ah, that's right. You're just a pawn. Perhaps I'll have to go have a chat with your owner." Kimimaruo narrowed his eyes. "You stay away from Naruto, or Orochimaru is going to have a little accident. Understand?"

His answer was a narrowing of the eyes, so Sasuke punched him in the face once more, leaving him with an unconscious race car driver. Sasuke sighed and heaved him up into the hospital bed before leaving. Shizune was waiting for him outside.

"Everything okay?" Sasuke grunted at her and turned to find Naruto. He was stopped by her hand on his elbow. "Hold still." He was about to tell her off, but she was dapping at his head with a piece of gauze. He let her clean off his injury. "Naruto's asleep right now. We'll need to keep him here for the night, wake him up every hour to make sure he'll be all right, and then we'll send him home with you tomorrow morning. " Sasuke sighed.

"Well, if he's asleep, I'll go check on the car. You'll wake him up in an hour?" Shizune confirmed and Sasuke turned and left.

He entered the garage to hear some very colorful cursing sounding suspiciously like the Pit Crew Chief.

"What the Hell does he think I am? A miracle worker? Does he think I can pull metal and spare parts out of my ass? I can't work like this! How the Hell am I supposed to get this piece of scrap ready in a week?" The ranting continued while the rest of the pit crew stood and waited for the rant to be over. Sasuke came up to the jackman, who ironically was a woman. She was filing her nails while waiting for Jiraiya to finish so they could get to work.

"How bad is it, Sakura?" Sakura sighed and tucked her file in her back pocket.

"Pretty bad. There's not much left of the car." She glanced sideways before she continued. "How's Naruto? The reporters said that both he and Kimimaru are pretty banged up."

Sasuke fought with the grin. Kimimaru was pretty banged up, though not from the wreck. He shook his head and answered her. "Concussion, sprained wrist, cracked rib, a couple of stitches. He'll be fine."

"Will he be ready for next week?"

"That's up to him. I won't have him drive if he doesn't feel up to it."

"Will you drive if he doesn't ?" Sasuke clenched his jaw.

"It won't come to that. What about the backup car?"

Sakura caught the change of topic and allowed for it. "That is the backup car. There's more of the main car left than this one, but not by much. Between the two cars, we may be able to get enough of a car together to run." Sasuke shook his head.

"No, I don't want him to be racing a car that's unsafe. If we can't fix the cars we have, we'll put together a new one."

"In a week? Uchiha-brat, we can't build a new car in a week." Jiraiya had finally finished his rant and had decided to enter in Sasuke's conversation. The rest of the pit crew turned to look at Sasuke.

"It can be done," Sasuke confirmed, "and I know that you can do it, Jiraiya. Make it happen." Jiraiya groaned and turned to go back to the drawing board, literally. The front tire carrier, Neji, stood and moved forward.

"They said Kimimaruo was injured. I watched the video of the wreck. He spun out, didn't hit anything on his way out."

"Do you have a point, Neji?" Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest. Neji rolled his eyes.

"We aren't stupid enough to not realize that Kimimaru is doing this on purpose. It's sabotage," said the gas man which, ironically enough, was also a woman by the name of Ino. The rest of the pit crew murmured their support. Finally, the rear tire changer growled out one response.

"I hope, Uchiha, that you are going to take care of this." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Gaara had always rubbed him wrong, but he was a friend of Naruto's that had needed a job, so he tolerated him. For Naruto's sake.

"I'm working on it. Make the car happen. I'll worry about the rest." Sasuke turned to leave to find the owner of Team Otogakure. Behind him, a voice hollered out at him.

"I need supplies, Uchiha-brat! Parts, metal, a fucking engine!"

"Lee," Sasuke hollered back to the gas-catch man, "get Jiraiya his supplies. Add it to my tab." Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose as he heard the energetic reply before he inhaled and squared his shoulders. He was going snake hunting.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke!" that damned snake crooned. "Have you come to congratulate me on my win?" Sasuke grit his teeth and moved further inside Otogakure's garage. "Pity about your driver. Have you decided to drop that moron yet? You could come spot me. I would love to have you watch my back."<p>

Sasuke toyed with the trophy for a second before he gripped it and swung, hard, at Orochimaru's smirking face. To his displeasure, the snake-bastard ducked last minute and the trophy smacked into the wall, leaving a large crack down the middle of the trophy. "First, he's not a moron, he's my moron, and I will not tolerate you talking about him like that." Orochimaru tsked at him.

"Touch a nerve did I? Poor Nartuo, I hear they're holding him in the hospital overnight. Must be bad."

"Second," Sasuke snarled, swinging the trophy again, "stay _away_ from Naruto."

"Then again," Orochimaru replied, taking a step back as the trophy came a breath away from his nose, "Kimimaru's being held overnight as well. Funny, I spoke to him not too long ago. He said he was fine, not a scratch."

"Third, if you even think of sending any more of your lackeys after him, I'll strap you to the hood of your car and push you over a cliff."

Orochimaru caught the trophy and yanked it away from Sasuke's grip. "My, my, what a devoted team owner you are. You care so much for your teammates." He leered at Sasuke. "You're asking a lot from me; what do I get in return?"

"You get to keep your life and limbs intact, ass wipe." Sasuke mentally grinned to himself. Naruto was apparently starting to wear off on him. His parents would have a heart attack if they heard him call any one an ass wipe. In his mind, he could see Naruto sticking his tongue out at said ass wipe. He straightened himself, recomposed his posture, and finally spoke like the businessman he was for the first time since he lost his composure at seeing Orochimaru's disgusting face. "I'll be filing an official complaint against you and your team."

With that he turned and left, ignoring the calling behind him. He had a few calls to make and then he could finally crawl back to the hospital and to Naruto. He made the call to the Racing League, making an official complaint, and then steeling himself, he called his parents back.

"Sasuke," his mother's voice rang out through the phone, "we saw the wreck! They said Naruto has a concussion and a cracked rib! Is he okay?"

"Can he still race?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at his father. Of course, that'd be what he'd be worried about. Sasuke heard a light smack across the phone.

"Oh good grief, would you listen to yourself. Sasuke, Sasuke honey, is Naruto okay?"

"You know about as much as I do, Mom. Concussion, cracked rib, sprained wrist, couple of stitches." The mantra kept running through his head. Oh God, he was losing it! It hadn't even been an hour without Naruto and he was already going crazy. "The Doctors were letting him sleep for a bit. They're going to have to wake him up every hour through the night and then they'll send him home tomorrow. I'm on my way back now."

"Back? Where were you? You weren't at the hospital?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his father's disapproving tone. Loyalty was always an important trait to his father.

"I went there first, but he was sleeping. I wanted to take care of a few things before I head back to stay with him tonight."

"Do you want me to bring you some PJs? A toothbrush?" Sasuke smirked. Of course his mother would think of bringing them PJs. Lovely woman.

"Yes, thank you."

"What things? Filing a complaint for sabotage, I hope."

"Yes, Father."

"Good." He heard the click as his father hung up his line. He heard his mother huff.

"I'll see you in a little bit, dear."

"Okay, thanks Mom." Sasuke hung up and pulled open the door to the hospital. He caught Tsunade just as she was about to go into Naruto's room. "Have you woke him up yet?"

"No, I was just about to." Tsunade paused for a moment, weighing Sasuke with her eyes before she continued. "But, now that you're here, do you mind? Wake him and make sure he takes these medications. We've got a whole bunch a dehydrated drunk idiots that I still need to take care of."

Sasuke agreed and took the medications from her before entering Naruto's room. Despite his efforts of trying to brace himself for what he'd see, he was unprepared for what met him. It made him wish he had hit Kimimaru a couple times more. The entire half of Naruto's face was black and blue, swollen over and making him look puffy. There was a nice line of stitches down the middle of his forehead where his head must have hit. His wrist was wrapped in a splint and wires strung from his other wrist and chest to the machines next to his bed. He looked bad. And as Sasuke slipped into the bed next to him, he could feel the brace around his chest, supporting the cracked rib. Sasuke reached out a shook him slightly.

"Idiot, wake up. Time to take your meds." Naruto groaned and tried to role away from the hand that was shaking him, but stopped with a sharp gasp.

"Ow."

"Well, don't do that then." His voice sounded condescending, but inside, Sasuke was releasing a sigh of relief. "Let me help you sit up so you can take some more pain pills."

"I feel like I was in a car wreck," Naruto commented, once he was sitting and Sasuke made sure that he swallowed both little white pills.

"You were in a car wreck, moron." Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment, uncomprehending, until his memory caught up with him.

"Damn it! He did it again! I was so close this time; I had this one!" Naruto's fisted hand hit the mattress, which, of course, resulted in another yelp of pain as he jarred his sprained wrist. Sasuke carefully took the injured limb and pulled it back to lay across Naruto's abdomen.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"How bad off is the car?" Sasuke winced before deciding to keep Naruto's knowledge of how bad the wreck actually was to a minimum.

"It won't be able to race next week. Jiraiya's going to build you a new one. A better one, I promise, Naruto," Sasuke was quick to reassure at Naruto's sad little pout.

"Can he get it done by next week?"

Sasuke sighed. He knew he would have to have this conversation with him at some point, but he had been hoping that Naruto would be a little more rested before. "It can be done in a week, but Naruto, do you think you'll be ready to race in a week?"

Naruto took a moment to look insulted before he replied. "Of course! It's the last race of the season; do you really think I'd miss it just because of a bum wrist?"

"And a concussion, and a cracked rib. Do you remember the wreck at all?" Naruto made his scrunchy 'I'm thinking face' before shaking his head. "It was pretty bad. You hit the wall hard. It could have been a lot worse than it actually is."

"Exactly. It could have been worse, but it isn't. If Jiraiya can have a car ready for me, then I'll be ready to go." Sasuke knew that was what Naruto was going to say, but it still made him feel uneasy.

"If you don't feel up to it, promise you'll tell me. I'll race for you if you don't think you can." Plus, that would take Naruto out of Kimimaru's war path, but Sasuke wasn't about to tell Naruto that. He was busy thinking about that and so missed Naruto's narrowing of the eyes.

"You don't think I'm a good driver, do you Bastard? Even when we were in go-carts you always thought you were better than me. I'm just as good as you, won just as many races as you did. And I know next week's track better than you. The wrecks haven't been my fault. Kimimaru has it out for me and there was no way I could…" Sasuke cut off the tirade with a hand over Naruto's mouth, but the blue eyes looking back at him were still accusing him.

"I thought I lost you, Naruto. There's nothing left of the car. I've been watching replay after replay of the wreck and in my mind I keep telling myself that there's no way that you could have survived that. I'm supposed to be watching out for you to make sure you don't hit the wall like that, and every week, the wrecks are getting worse and worse. And I…I can't…" Sasuke cut himself off before the scream that had been echoing through his skull ever since he saw Naruto's car doing summersaults down the track could rip through his throat. Naruto, finally understanding, reached out with his good hand and laced his fingers with Sasuke's. He gave them a light squeeze and waited until it was returned.

"I'm okay right now, I promise. I've been banged up worse than this before. We'll just have to make sure there isn't a wreck next week." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the growl he got in reply.

"I've talked to Kimimaru and Orochcimaru both, but I don't think that did any good. I've filed a complaint with the Racing League against them too, but they said that they'd have to review all the tapes and that it might take a while before they come to a conclusion. Either way, we need to assume that next week, they'll follow the same plan."

They sat in silence for a couple of moments, each thinking of their options, before Naruto slid down his pillows to lay back down. Sasuke shifted as well so he could keep their linked hands connected. "I can't see him and when he's coming after me."

Sasuke grinned and turned on his side so he could card the fingers of his free hand through the golden hair. "That's my job. He only starts coming after you when it's close to the end of the race and you're in first. He lines up behind you and waits until Orochimaru is in third."

"So when he takes both of us out, it leaves Orochimaru in first." Sasuke hummed his affirmation. "But I can't not ever take first, Sasuke. That's the entire point of racing."

"I know, but we'll have to be more careful about it. Wait until the last moment to pull ahead and then break out away from the rest of the pack as fast as possible so he can't catch you."

"Sneaky," Naruto grinned, "like a ninja."

Sasuke grinned back. "Exactly like. Now, get some rest. It's going to be a long week next week."

* * *

><p>The days leading up to the final race of the season were always chaotic. Parades, interviews, test laps and qualifying runs jam-packed into a three day span made for an exciting, but exhausting, run. And it all was leading up to the longest, most grueling race of the season- 500 miles on a 2.5 mile oval track designed to test the stamina and mental acuity of the entire crew. Sasuke pushed the sunglasses further up on the bridge of his nose as he climbed out of the trailer. Behind him, he heard Naruto's door slam shut.<p>

"Ah!" Naruto breathed out heavily, "It's like coming home! I love this track!" Naruto moved to the back of the trailer and banged hard on the door. "Lee! I'm going for a lap around the track; do you want to come with me?"

Sasuke couldn't help the fond grin. It was a tradition of Naruto's to run around the track. Lee, always ready for a run, usually went with him. But, the entire crew had been sent into overtime to work on getting the new car done on time. The trailer door rolled up show Lee's grease smeared face.

"Sorry, Naruto. We want to have the car done in time for you to do a couple of practice laps before qualifying rounds start." Naruto tried to peak around him, but Lee moved to block his line of vision.

"Have you guys been working on it back here this entire time?" Lee grined back at him and shrugged. Sasuke finally moved to play interference.

"Go for your run, Naruto. Take it easy." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him before shrugging and taking off towards the track. Sasuke watched him trot off before turning back to his pit crew. "Alright, guys, let's get this car unloaded."

Ino growled at him as she hopped off the back of the trailer and turned to help guide the almost finished car onto the lift. "You so owe us, Uchiha. Every time you hit a pothole, Jiraiya's blow torch would almost take my eyebrows off. "

* * *

><p>Sasuke lie awake in the hotel room that night. The uneasiness about last week's wreck still weighed on him heavily. He sighed and rolled to his side to look at Naruto's sleeping, still badly bruised, face. Lightly, he traced over the stitches. Naruto had assured him that he was feeling much better and would be fine to race, but Sasuke still had his doubts. Especially since there was still the threat that Naruto would be in another wreck this week. He was already hurt so bad, what would another wreck do to him?<p>

With a low growl, Sasuke rolled back over onto his back. He felt like he was missing something. He had been avoiding thinking about the wreck, instead focusing on the warm presence beside him, but now he forced himself to replay every wreck since Kimimaro started taking Naruto out.

How was he able to catch up to Naruto? Naruto, although young, was by far the better driver and the car was top of the line, fastest car on the track. Sasuke had spared no expense in the design and construction. So how could he catch him? Especially with so little damage to himself and his car. He had only ever spun out while Naruto was left to slam into the wall.

Sasuke sat up in bed, careful to not wake his bedmate. Kimimaro was only ever able to catch Naruto in the turns. On the straight-aways, Naruto could always pull away. But in the turns, Naruto, like every other normal driver, let up off the accelerator. It was to prevent sliding out of control. Kimimaro would accelerate into the turns. That's how he caught up to Naruto, that's how he spun out instead of hitting the wall like Naruto, and that's how Sasuke planned to get Naruto away from Kimimaro.

He slipped from the bed and dressed quickly before heading down to the track. He slipped his key into their garage and barely had time to duck as a crow bar came swinging at his head. He reached up and pulled the crow bar from his attacker's grip and turned to flip the switch. "Sakura? What the Hell?"

"Oops, sorry Sasuke. We thought you were one of Orochimaru's goonies. Kiba overheard them talking about sabotaging the car." She motioned over her shoulder to the rear tire carrier. Kiba waved, and Sasuke was mildly surprised to see the entire pit crew there. There were sleeping bags placed around the garage. "We were here late working on the car anyways, so we just thought we'd stick around. Just in case."

The strong sense of pride and gratitude washed over him, but he pushed those feelings to the back for the moment to address the matter at hand. "I think I know how to get Naruto away from Kimimaro. We're going to need to make some changes to the car's design."

"Uchiha," Jiraiya whined, "we were almost finished."

"It has to be done. Kimimaro will cause him to wreck again if we don't." Sasuke waited for the sleepy pit crew to let that sink in. The grim faces set in hard determination and Sasuke knew that they would be able to make this happen. "Naruto has to be able to accelerate into the turns."

"That's…really not safe," Neji said slowly.

"That's how Kimimaro's catching him. It has to be done. And I think I have a design plan for how to do it." Sasuke moved to the work bench and began to sketch out his ideas. They worked through the night, making the adjustments.

However, despite the crew's best efforts, the car wasn't ready in time for any practice laps. It barely was ready for qualifying rounds two days before the race. Naruto was leaning against the railing watching the cars try to qualify for the top starting positions when Sasuke found him. Naruto glanced up at him from where his chin was resting on his folded arms as he came and rested his hip against the railing.

"Team Otogakure is having problems with their cars today," Naruto observed.

Sasuke grinned as Kimimaro's car puttered past at a speed much slower than usual. "Oh? That's too bad." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"

"No," Sasuke confessed, "but apparently your pit crew has issues with them messing with their driver as well." Sasuke grinned to himself again as he remembered the pleased, but exhausted, crew that had greeted him that morning. They had worked through the night to get the car up and running, and once it was done had gone on a mission to Team Otogakure's garage. Sasuke smothered his chuckles and put on a straight face in front of Naruto's skeptic eye. "Come on, I have a gift for you."

Naruto grinned and turned to follow him infield. "Really? I hope that it's fast, loud, and red and black."

The grin was stretching across Sasuke's face again. "Nope." The shocked expression on Naruto's face was worth every bit of the hard time he knew he was going to get from his family. As they rounded the corner, they came face to face with the brand new Uchiha Racing Team's bright, neon orange racing car. "It's super fast, super loud, and, well, orange."

Naruto was drooling. "It's beautiful."

Jiraiya threw a matching orange helmet at Naruto. "You better get going, kid. Qualifications are going to be wrapping up soon and if you want to be in this race, you're going to have to run." Naruto grinned at him and hopped in the car.

As the pit crew was pushing Naruto out to the track, Sasuke moved to give the needed information to the track officials. Then, he moved up to the spotter booth from where he could watch the entire track. He hooked in his headphone set and turned to the right frequency.

"Test, test. Naruto, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. I so owe you for this car."

Sasuke grinned. "You can win for me and we'll call it even. Jiraiya, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. Just try not to wreck this one, all right?"

Behind him, the track official moved to sit next to Sasuke. "He'll have three practice laps to warm the car up, then three qualifying laps. We'll take the highest of his qualifying speeds to compare to the other drivers. His position will be based on his speed ranking. If you want to retry for a higher position, you will have to withdraw your speed and try again. Your driver can be bumped from his position if another driver gets a better time."

Sasuke nodded his head to the routine instructions and relayed the information through to Naruto. It was information that they already knew, but when nerves are a factor, it's best to go through the routine.

"Timers ready?" The official said over his shoulder. There were voices in confirmation. And then Naruto was off.

Sasuke watched as Naruto zigg-zagged on the track, warming the tires up and getting used to the feel of the new car. It worried Sasuke slightly that the first time Naruto was behind the wheel of this car was during qualifying rounds, but he also knew Naruto enough to know that he'd adapt fast to the car. Naruto was a wonderful driver and Sasuke had no doubt that Naruto would be able to handle any car he got into.

"How's the car feeling, Naruto?" Sasuke asked after the first warm-up lap.

"Wonderful! Jiraiya, you are all amazing! I can't believe you pulled this off." There was a light grunt of acknowledgment from the crew chief.

"Naruto, next turn, try accelerating into it. We made some alterations to the design plan and I want to make sure they work before you get going too fast."

There was a slight pause, and then, "Seriously?"

"Try it, Naruto," Sasuke reassured. Sasuke watched as Naruto hesitated, then accelerated into the turn. Sasuke was vigilant to any sign of the car slipping or that Naruto was going to lose control, but there was none. The design held.

"Holy shit! What the Hell did you do?" Sasuke grinned at the laughing voice in his ear.

"Did that feel alright?"

"Did that feel alright? I think I wet myself a little, but other than that, felt fine."

Sasuke watched as Naruto accelerated into the next turn. Again, the design held and Naruto was able to maintain control of the car through the turn. So far, at lower speeds, this trick of theirs was working.

A tap on his shoulder drew his attention to the track official next to him. "Next lap will be his first qualifying."

Sasuke nodded. "Naruto, warm up's over. Time to see what she can do."

"Yea, yea. Hold onto your panties, here I go." Naruto stepped on the accelerator, punching the speed from 146 mph to 220 mph in a heartbeat. He zipped down the main strait-away and into turn one, letting up on the accelerator just before the turn.

"Naruto," Sasuke began, but Naruto cut him off.

"Yea, I hear ya. Just give me a second, okay?"

"221," the timing official recorded.

"A little slow, Naruto. 221. You can go faster than that, can't you?" Sasuke egged on. There was a slight grunt from Naruto's end to show that he had heard him, and then Naruto was rounding the fourth turn and coming back down the main straight away. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw Naruto let up on the accelerator again. "You're still letting up into the turns."

"I know, Sasuke. Excuse me while I'm trying to rewrite years of training."

A cough, and then "230." Sasuke glanced down on his monitor. With that speed, Naruto would be in the middle of the third row. Fast cars this race.

"Still a little slow, Naruto. Let's open it up, full throttle. Push it, baby."

" Blah, blah, blah, Uchiha. You're all talk and no game."

Sasuke chuckled at the banter. "Prove it, then."

Naruto accelerated into the second turn and rounded into the back strait-away. Another glance at his monitor showed Naruto at 236. That put him in the second row, at least. Two more turns, and Naruto was once again screaming down the main strait-away. Sasuke saw the car lurch as Naruto put the medal to the metal. He didn't dare blink with Naruto going that fast. Naruto flew by the finish line, and started letting off the accelerator.

"Well?" Naruto's voice asked in his ear. Sasuke turned to the timers and raised an eyebrow.

"241. A new record." Sasuke suppressed the silly grin threatening his face.

"Well," Sasuke said into the headset microphone, "You're currently sitting on the pole."

"By how much?"

"Oh, a couple of miles. Head into the pits to have Jiraiya check over the car. I'll meet you there."

"Sasuke!" Naruto squawked, but Sasuke was already headed out of the booth.

He ran into his family in the VIP section on his way to the pits. Itachi, of course, was the first to notice him. Sasuke still had to suppress his flinch at his brother's red eyes. There had been a fire after his crash and burning gasoline had splashed into Itachi's eyes, burning the retinas pretty badly. He still had vision in one eye, though it had taken several surgeries to save it. Now, the pupils of his eyes looked bright red from the burned retinas. Itachi smirked at him as he approached.

"You have a very interesting new car."

Sasuke worked hard to keep his face neutral. "Do you like it?"

"Besides the…interesting shade of color, yes, very much so. You've changed the design."

"It's faster. Naruto just broke the track record."

"How fast?" his father finally entered the conversation.

"241." His father gave an impressed grunt. His mother threaded an arm around Sasuke's.

"How's Naruto doing?"

Sasuke patted her hand on his forearm. "Fine, doing better. Still bruised up."

"And you? How are you holding up?"

Sasuke answered her with a shrug. "I'm on my way down." It was enough of an answer. Sasuke would be better once he could see, feel Naruto. His heart stopped beating every time he saw Naruto climb behind the wheel. He knew, more than anyone, the dangers of this sport. Every time he looked into his brother's face it was a testament that the worse could, and does, happen.

His parents waved him off, and Sasuke trotted the rest of the way down to the pits, showing his pass at the rent-a-cops making sure fans didn't sneak by. Kiba was showing Naruto the new design on the car. Naruto, to Sasuke's displeasure, was rubbing at his side, right over the broken rib. Sasuke, coming up to them, wrapped his fingers gently around Naruto's wrist and pulled it away from his side.

"Leave it alone, Naruto."

"Sasuke, you jerk. How fast was I?"

"I told you," Sasuke teased, "You're sitting on the pole. What else do you need to know other than you'll be starting first?"

"Sasuke!"

"Fine, fine. You broke the track record. 241." Naruto's jaw dropped. Someone on the pit crew whistled before Kiba barked out a laugh.

"Ha! I'd like to see that pasty jerk catch you now!" His statement was backed by the rest of the crew, grinning at each other and already congratulating each other on their hard work.

"All right, team, don't start celebrating yet. Everyone get some rest tonight, big day tomorrow. Pit crew competition, which we will win," Sasuke said pointedly. Uchiha Racing Team had a long standing tradition of having the best times in the pit. Races, after all, were won and lost in the pits. And Sasuke had made sure that he had the very best pit crew. "Parade that afternoon. And then, the day after tomorrow, the race."

"Which we will win," Naruto quipped. His comment was met with cheers from the rest of the team. They all got behind the car and pushed it back to the garage. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sleeping bags and air mattresses, but wisely kept his mouth shut. He had learned long ago to not question his crew.

They won the pit crew competition, of course, with a time of 4.2, split seconds away from the record. No other driver was able to bump Naruto from his pole position, so when the parade came around, he was riding in the first starting position. And true to tradition, Naruto dragged Sasuke with him into the parade. Sasuke had tried to explain that it was the drivers that the fans came to see, but Naruto was adamant that Sasuke always ride along with him.

That night, as Naruto was stripping the days grease and grime from his body, Sasuke ran his fingers gently over his bruised ribs.

"Promise me," Sasuke whispered tenderly in Naruto's ear, "Promise me, promise me."

"Anything," Naruto murmured back.

"Promise me you'll be safe. Promise you'll come back to me." Sasuke trailed kisses down Naruto's spine. "Promise me you'll come back."

"Always."

* * *

><p>And then it was race day. The stands were packed with fans and there was electricity in the air. Yielding to Sasuke's prodding, Naruto swung by the medic tent for Dr. Tsunade to clear him for racing. She frowned and huffed, but eventually conceded to Naruto's pout.<p>

The sky filled with balloons, broken only by the thundering roar of the jet engine flyover. There was the announcer "A here's your pole sitter, starting off in first place, racing for Uchiha Racing Team, Naruto Uzumaki!" There was the screaming fans.

And there was the most famous words in racing. "Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!"

The deafening growls of 33 cars revved to life. Eleven rows of three lined up at the start/finish line. Last minute mechanic checks, and then the track was cleared of everyone but the drivers. Sasuke made his way up to the spotters' booth and did a quick mike test.

"Loud and clear, Sasuke."

"Can hear you fine, Uchiha-brat. Let's get this party started."

Sasuke entered some information into his computer before he replied. "All right team, let's get ready for 200 laps of intense competition. Keep vigilante, keep communication open. We're going for the win on this one."

There were the five warm-up pace laps. And then there was a green flag. The cars jockeyed for position, but Naruto kept his position.

"Naruto, keep away from the inside edge- traffic to the outside."

Naruto pulled away from the inside edge, preventing the traffic to his right from passing him.

"All right, Naruto, coming up on lap traffic. Watch for slower cars." Sasuke turned to the spotters of the cars in the last couple of positions to tell them to watch out for his driver. They agreed and relayed the information through to their drivers to let Naruto pass them. One of the annoying disadvantages of a circular track- the fastest cars would loop all the way back around and get caught up in the traffic of the slowest cars.

"Hey kid," Jiraiya's voice crackled in through the headset. "We're burning through rubber. You'll need new tires soon. Gas too."

Sasuke scanned the monitor and saw that Jiraiya was correct. Naruto would only last a couple more laps before he'd get into trouble. "Been a clear race so far. Three more laps, and if there isn't a yellow…"

He wasn't even able to finish his sentence before a rookie driver close to the end of the pack got too high up on the fourth turn. The tire debris from the burned rubber would be pushed up against the wall. If cars got too high, going too fast through the turns, their tires lose traction. The rookie driver hit the wall and skidded. Sasuke spared himself a mental wince before relaying the info to Naruto.

"Yellow. Wreck on the back end. Fourth turn." Naruto was just coming out of the first turn. "Watch coming around. As soon as the pits open, come on in."

"What lap are we on?"

"68. Keep it steady."

"Do you want us to hold back on this one?" Jiraiya asked. It was their plan to not keep Naruto in first for too long. Recently, having Naruto in first made Sasuke twitchy, so he wanted Naruto second or third until the last couple of laps as a buffer zone between him and Orochimaru's cronies.

"It's still early," Naruto whined, "I can still ride first for a while before backing off."

Sasuke grinned to himself. Naruto was nothing else if not slightly competitive. Sasuke listened in on the other spotters before replying. "Do your best this time around. Let's see where you end up. Pits are open next lap. Watch the traffic, sounds like everyone will be coming in."

Most all of the drivers did come, barely missing hitting each other as they raced to the pits. Jiraiya and the rest of the crew got Naruto's new tires on and filled the gas tank within a blink of an eye.

"Behind!" Sasuke called out as the car in the pit spot behind Naruto peeled out at the same time as Naruto. Naruto gunned it and missed him by a hair.

"So Sasuke, what idiot rookie has the spot behind me? He needs to learn to watch where he's going."

Sasuke snorted. "Don't worry about him. Focus on what you're doing." He watched as the cars exited the pit lane and back onto the track. He counted, and then relayed the positions of concern back to Naruto. "You're still in first. Kimimaro's moved up. He's running eleventh. Orochimaru's running seventh. Start watching your tail, Naruto."

"Yup."

With another wave of the green flag, and the race was off again. It was a pretty clean race. There was another spin off on lap 115, another yellow, and another chance to come into the pits. Naruto agreed to hold back a bit and let a couple of cars pass him before pulling out of the pit lane. Luckily he came out when he did; the rookie that almost hit him on the last yellow pulled out into another driver right behind Naruto. The wreck took out both cars and the two cars coming up behind that weren't able to avoid them. Another yellow layered on, especially in the pit lane, kept the green flag from coming out until lap 131.

"69 laps to go, Naruto. Keep calm, don't jump the gun. Don't make your move too soon."

"I'm running fifth, Sasuke. Can't I move up just a spot?"

"No. Kimimaro is only a couple of cars behind you. Orochimaru is right behind him. They're getting in position to strike. I don't want them to have the opportunity."

There was a sigh and Sasuke could just hear the pout through the headset. "Fine."

"Stealthy like a ninja, remember?"

"Yea, yea, yea…I hear ya."

Sasuke watched Naruto go into another turn. "You're getting a little high, Naruto. Hug the inside."

"No one likes a back seat driver, Sasuke. Despite what you think, I do know how to drive." Next turn, Naruto stayed lower.

"Good boy."

"Shut-up."

Sasuke watched a couple of more laps, eyes scanning the field and ears open and listening to the other spotters.

"Naruto."

"Yes?"

"Watch out ahead of you. I think the driver running second is going to try and make a move for first and there's no way he's going to get around him. If he doesn't yield to the driver in first, there's going to be a wreck."

"Got it."

It was lap 152 on the first turn when the second place driver made his move, just as Sasuke expected. The driver's front tires were level with the back tires of the front driver, who jerked his wheel to block him, successfully causing both drivers to spin and taking out the two cars behind them. Tires locked, all four cars skidded down the track between turns one and two. "Pull down!" Sasuke called to Naruto, who quickly jerked his wheel down and to the left, avoiding the pile up.

The cars behind him weren't so lucky. By the end, there were six cars piled up in a tangled mess before enough of the drivers got the message of the first place wreck.

"Holy shit!" Naruto called, as he was lapping back around behind the pace car and saw the carnage. "That was a nasty one."

"Yes, it is." Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You're running first now, Naruto, and Kimimaro and Orochimaru are right behind you."

"Do you want us to hold him up in the pit?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"No!" Naruto answered. "Sasuke, by the time they clean that all up, there's only going to be about thirty laps left. Let me race!"

Mentally, Sasuke was seeing Naruto's bright orange car doing cartwheels down the track, disinigrating as it hit the wall. "Trust me, Sasuke. I won't fail this time."

Sasuke warred with himself before he nodded. "Alright, let's see what you can do. Jiraiya, only give him enough fuel to get him through the rest of the race. Let's keep the car as light as possible."

"Got it."

There were only 31 laps to go when Sasuke said into the microphone, "Next lap's green. As soon as you get the flag, open it up. Let's get you as far as possible away from the pack."

Sasuke saw Naruto make that fourth turn and come puttering up to the finish line where the track official was waving the green flag. Naruto stepped on the gas as soon as he came up to the finish line, the tires complaining by kicking up a lot of smoke and the car lurching from 120 mph to 220 by the time he accelerated into the first turn. It was the first time Uchiha Racing had shown their new trick to the rest of the track, and Sasuke could hear the stands screaming, announcers marveling at how Naruto maintained control of his car, and the rest of the spotters calling out excitedly to their drivers.

Despite the burst of speed, Kimimaro was hot on Naruto's tail. "Keep pushing it, Naruto. He's right behind you."

There was a slight grunt, and Sasuke knew that that was about as much of a response he was going to get. Naruto was in full race mode, focusing hard on going as fast as he could without spinning out. He was hitting 240 by the time he lapped back around. Kimimaro was struggling to keep up with him, and Orochimaru was drafting off of Kimimaro; he was running too close to him for them to be able to pull their usual stunt.

"Naruto, I think the game's going to change. Can you break away any more?"

"I'm trying, Sasuke. I'm going to be breaking Mach 1 any second now. How's the game changing?"

Sasuke snorted at the exaggeration and watched another lap before he understood. "Orochimaru's going to pass Kimimaro."

"What? Seriously?"

"He has the better car; Kimimaro's car has only ever been a battering ram and he can't catch you. Orochimaru has all of the new technology riding along with him. Looks like you're going to get a race."

"Good." Naruto's growl matched his car. "I've been itching for a fair race against this guy."

"Only 27 laps to go."

"Got it."

On the third turn, Kimimaro swung high, allowing Orochimaru to keep low to pass him. The considerable gap between him and Naruto started to narrow. By the time there were only four laps left, Orochimaru was riding Naruto's ass. Sasuke relayed the info back to Naruto and got another grunt of response. "Watch your back left; when he makes a move, that's where it's going to be."

Just as Sasuke finished his sentence, Orochimaru made a move on the second turn, trying to swing low to pass Naruto. A side-effect of accelerating into the turns was the tendency to swing a little high. Kabuto must have noticed this and relayed it back to Orochimaru. Sasuke was about to open his mouth to tell Naruto, but Naruto had already decelerated and dropped back down to cut him off.

"All right, good job, Naruto."

"Yea- I won't be able to accelerate into the turns any more. I don't want to give him an opening."

"Good idea. White flag next lap."

"Good. I want my checkered flag."

The track official was waving the white flag as Naruto crossed over the finish line, signifying that there was only one lap left in the race.

Turn one, Orochimaru expected Naruto to accelerate, so he accelerated to try and pass him low, resulting in a near rear-end when Naruto didn't accelerate and hugged the inside of the track. A long line of curses came from both sides of the microphone.

Turn two, Orochimaru tried to swing high to pass Naruto, but couldn't quite pick up enough speed. When Naruto leveled out from the turn, they almost locked tires again. Naruto cursed, and Sasuke threw a pen at Kabuto.

Turn three, Orochimaru pulled out of the turn and swung high on the track between turns three and four, trying to pass Naruto before they got into the fourth turn. Naruto accelerated hard and pulled up slightly before going into turn four. Next to him, Sasuke heard Kabuto talking with Orochimaru. "You'll have more time to catch him on the straight-away with more track." Sasuke scoffed.

"Naruto, Kabuto thinks his driver can catch you on the straight-away," Sasuke said loudly, making sure Kabuto could hear him.

"Ha! Kabuto can sit and watch me win."

On the fourth turn, Naruto put the pedal to the metal on leveling out, his car roaring with complaint at the abuse. So did Orochimaru, pulling his front tires level with Naruto's back. There was a growl in Sasuke's ear, and he didn't know if it was the car or Naruto, but slow and steady, Naruto started to pull away from Orochimaru.

There was the checkered flag, and there was the stands on their feet, cheering and screaming for Naruto. There was Kabuto throwing his headset across the room, and there was Jiraiya and the rest of the crew jumping and running out of the pits and onto the track.

And there was Sasuke, smiling wide and happy at the excited cheers in his ears. "Take your victory lap, Naruto. You've earned it. I'll see you in the winner's circle."

"You bet!"

It seemed to Sasuke that everyone was trying to stop him and congratulate him on his team's win. He remembered the other team owners clapping him on his back and telling him it was about time. He remembered giving the standard media line about how this win wouldn't be possible without the awesome combination of the team, of the driver, and the car. He remembered the sneering face of Orochimaru moments before a track official came to remove him for questioning. He remembered his parents' proud smiles and Itachi's knowing smirk with a low "Congratulations, baby brother. Now go find your driver."

But mostly, Sasuke remembered having his arms full of a sweaty blond as Naruto launched himself off the hood of his car as Sasuke (finally) made his way to the winner's circle. "We did it! We did it!"

Sasuke's arms clenched a little tighter around his driver. "Of course, idiot. Did you ever doubt we could?"


End file.
